Sr Business Analyst

At Northwestern Mutual, we’re changing the way people think about financial planning with the scale of a Fortune 100 company. We’re redefining and disrupting the industry while changing people’s financial lives with better experiences and better technology. We believe in building inclusive and diverse workplaces, where every voice is heard. Come help us build for the future!

The client communications team is focused on modernizing our communication technologies and transforming client experiences. Specifically, this role will be passionate about modernizing the contracts that are sent to NM’s clients as part of their purchase of a life, disability, or annuity product, as well as enabling critical-priority experiences such as eDelivery and straight-through processing (STP).

As a senior business analyst on the team, you will dig deep into a specific business area and help define the details of how to drive business results through technology. You’ll work on a cross-functional team of product managers, engineers, designers and subject matter experts in an agile methodology to deliver on outcomes.

If this work sounds exciting to you but you don’t meet every criteria, you are encouraged to apply!

Primary duties & responsibilities:

• Business expertise : Provide deep expertise in at least one business area or domain with a broad understanding of business and domains surrounding the main focus. Articulate this knowledge as an expert at the department level. May be called on to provide insight at the enterprise level to provide detailed analysis.

• Current state, future state, and gap analysis: Independently assess and document current state across multiple processes, business areas and domains while consulting and mentoring other business analysts. Think strategically in understanding business drivers to define "target state" solutions.

• Gather requirements: Lead requirement gathering for larger efforts and across multiple business domains or from other business analysts.

• Author user stories and/or features: Author user stories and/or features independently with medium to high complexity and sometimes across multiple teams. Act as a subject matter expert throughout the development process as needs arise.

• Test plan reviews: Support solution delivery by coordinating and facilitating the business test planning and test execution by authoring, participating in, and ensuring business sign-off of testing processes for medium and large efforts.

• Leadership: Work independently and may coordinate work for others and/or provide mentorship. May provide business direction, guidance, and decisions to development and delivery teams.

• Project Management: Use advanced project management skills to lead, complete and advance work.

Qualifications

• 4-5 years of prior experience demonstrating business analysis, whether in a product management or engineering team, or in role within insurance operations, business consulting, or in a project-focused role.

• Solves complex problems; takes a new perspective on existing solutions; exercises judgment based on the analysis of multiple sources of information.

• Knowledge and skillset to position themselves as the communications expert and go to resource for key information and decisions making.

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

• Preferred: Knowledge of the financial services industry, insurance products, or business processes relating to issuing new insurance business

• Preferred: Familiar with agile and scrum development environments